Crash causes damage to signs, building on Taunton Green

No one was reported injured, but property damage was fairly significant after a minivan slammed into a highway sign, a city trash recyclable and a thick granite column where Taunton Green meets Post Office Square early on Thursday morning.

TAUNTON — No one was reported injured, but property damage was fairly significant after a minivan slammed into a highway sign, a city trash receptacle and a thick granite column where Taunton Green meets Post Office Square early on Thursday morning.

The driver of the 1995 Mercury Villager was identified by police as 57-year-old Francis Melchionne of 59 Ingell St.

The vehicle not only dislodged a sign directing traffic to towns located along Route 140, it also bent a metal railing and knocked over a thick granite column in front of the historic Crocker Building at 4 Court St.

The force of the crash didn’t just topple the otherwise sturdy column. It also caused a decorative sphere attached atop the column by a reinforced bar to break up and land at least 3 feet away.

Police said the single-vehicle crash occurred just after 1 a.m.

“I thought they had dismantled it. I just noticed now what happened,” said Pauline Nassif, a paralegal who works inside the Crocker Building.

Nassif, 42, said she initially thought the objects on the ground were part of the city’s recent downtown sidewalk replacement project.

She said she was surprised at the level of destruction caused by one vehicle.

“It had to hit extremely hard — look at it,” she said.

Nassif said she’s not altogether surprised that someone managed to drive into the sign and granite column. She said she’s noticed cars sometimes drive up Post Office Square and then make an illegal left turn onto Court Street.

Attorney Thomas Percy, who owns the building, did not immediately return a call and email seeking comment about the incident.

The original version of the Crocker Building was built in 1898. It was named for former U.S. Rep. Samuel L. Crocker, whose home was located there.

The building sits within what is known as the Taunton Green Historic District.